Huntsman's dilemma: local vs. national

MANCHESTER, NH -- This morning, GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman confirmed what reporters on the campaign trail in New Hampshire have been seeing for weeks.

"We are going to focus singularly on New Hampshire," the former Utah governor said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." This comes after Huntsman recently brought aboard a new state director, transferred staff from Florida to New Hampshire, upped his town hall appearances, and injected his own $500,000 to keep the operation afloat.

However, a one-state strategy could prove to be a problem for the campaign. The good news for Huntsman: His poll numbers are up in the Granite State, hitting 10% in last week's Suffolk/7News for a third-place finish ahead of Rick Perry. He said last week he is pleased with the momentum.

The bad news: Huntsman might have a national problem on his hands. To appear in the televised debates -- specifically CNN's debate next month -- Huntsman must poll at 2% to meet the minimum requirement. Right now, he is polling at 1%. So he has 20 days to boost his numbers nationally. This could require something of a national strategy, precisely the opposite of what the campaign has been doing as they roll back to focus on New Hampshire. The campaign would not comment on the matter.

Other news in the Huntsman world: Liberal filmmaker Michael Moore expressed major support for the former ambassador to China on CNN this week, calling him "reasonable."

"There's only who has sanity operating inside of him and that's Jon Huntsman," Moore told CNN's Piers Morgan. "If the Republican party and Tea Party were smart, they would run somebody who would not only get the Republican vote but also a big chunk of the independents and maybe some of the Democrats. But they're not... They're on the Tea-tanic."

The Huntsman campaign would not comment on the Moore endorsement.

GOP '12 presidential candidate Jon Huntsman joins Morning Joe to discuss what it's like being out on the campaign trail and why Chris Christie's name just won't go away.